MacBook Air’s multi-touch is all soft (Updated)

Turns out Apple could add the new multitouch features from the MacBook Air to …

Turns out all those fancy multi-touch gestures seen on the MacBook Air, by way of the iPhone, are all soft—software, that is. An Apple spokesperson told T3—the article there has since been taken down, but not before being quoted by MacNN—that magic is actually entirely software-based, indicating that it could be added to other Macs pretty easily.

The trackpads in current MacBooks and MacBook Pros already allow for two-finger scrolling. When you can track two touches independently, it's merely a matter of writing software to track the points and note the changes in direction. Tracking two points in the same direction is relatively easy, though. Tracking two points moving in opposite directions, or in a circle, is a little trickier.

But, don't assume Apple will be pushing out an update for all MacBooks or MacBook Pros. The Air features a much larger trackpad surface, making it easier to track subtle movements. The smaller the pad, the harder it is to track smaller movements. Apple may push an update out if testing shows the smaller trackpads provide a pleasant user experience. But if I were a bettin' man, I'd put my money on Apple putting larger trackpads in a MacBook Pro update before adding the feature to the line.

Update: It appears as if the original article at T3 was likely taken down because it was incorrect. As we learned from the iFixit teardown of the MacBook Air, it makes use of the same dedicated multitouch chip as the one found in the iPhone. We are unsure as to whether T3 misquoted an Apple spokesperson on this issue or whether PR was merely confused. Either way, we still believe that Apple plans to put larger multitouch trackpads in its other Macs!